Ayyapuram near Tenkasi in Tirunelveli district is a small hamlet having a Dalit population of 120 families. The Dalits here are served tea/coffee in disposable cups or steel tumblers as against glass tumblers used for caste Hindus.
This two-tumbler system is one of the numerous forms of untouchability practised in all the four teashops in this village despite the law banning it.
"In some of the teashops at the village, we will not be permitted to sit on the benches and drink tea," they lamented.
When some of the youth raised their voices against this archaic practice, they were not allowed to drink tea even in the tumblers that were meant for them. The teashop owners have forced them to bring utensils from their house to drink tea.
Irked by the rude behaviour of the four teashop owners, a group of youth has filed a complaint at the Tenkasi police station on 20 April 2008, about the practice in the village. The police have assured them to take necessary action and stop the practice in 10 days.
The situation of these Dalits has now allegedly become even worse, as they were receiving threats to their lives from the teashop owners - Ganesan, Esakki, Ganapathy and Subburasu, for filing the complaint with the police.
Sources at the police station have confirmed that the Dalits have not approached them so far in connection with the incident.
However, 28 April 2008, a group of youth from the village has forwarded a petition to the Superintendent of Police, Tirunelveli, R Dhinakaran, asking him to look into the matter immediately.
(Source: The New Indian Express dated 29 April 2008)
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